Stowe Gardens

One of a number of streets in the Honicknowle area named after well-known English country houses, Stowe Gardens is named after a the former seat of the dukes of Buckingham and has impressive parks and gardens that were successively fashioned by Bridgeman, Kent and Capability Brown. The house sits three miles north-west of Buckingham itself and was one of the largest English country houses of its day.

In 1923 however the late-eighteenth century building was saved from demolition when the house and landscape gardens were purchased for the newly-established Stowe School. The first phase of classrooms and accommodation were designed by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, the architect who built Portmeirion.

Past pupils include David Niven, Lord Cheshire, Lord Boyd-Carpenter, Christopher Robin Milne (of Winnie the Pooh fame) and, more recently Richard Branson. Since 1989 the National Trust has looked after the gardens, the school retaining full access.

The name itself – Stowe – generally means an inhabited place or a holy place and appears in many combinations, both as a suffix and a prefix; eg. Chepstow, Felixstowe and Stowford, Stowmarket.

EH 12 November 2005